Thursday, January 10, 2008

Being prolife, I have heard that slogan repeatedly. The assumption is that a woman can have an abortion because she can do whatever she wants with her body. There are at least two problems with that argument. One is that there are many things we can't do with our bodies. Prostitution is illegal in most places, there are a lot of drugs you can't legally ingest and I can't swing my fist into your face. That leads to the second. The baby killed by abortion isn't part of the mother's body even though it lives there. The child is a distinct human being.

Anyway, that isn't what is really on my mind. In church last Sunday, a young couple were talking about one of them wanting a tattoo. They did not agree. The dissenting partner said it would be like crayons on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel; why mess with perfection. I like that thought.

What really caught my attention was when the one who wanted the tattoo said, "It's my body and I should be able to do what I want." My mind flashed to 1 Corinthians 7:4: "For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does." In context, it is speaking of sex but I think the principle carries to many other areas.

One area I think it applies to is tattoos. I have advised young people considering a tattoo to wait until they are married and then see what their spouse thinks for it is that one who will have to live with it as well. I think the same could be carried over to other permanent body modifications.

I didn't share my thoughts with the couple as I didn't want it to seem that I was siding with one over the other.

Do you think my thoughts are correct? If so, would you have told the couple?